Topsy-Turvy entrance to Brighton

Here we are in Brighton, after a rather interesting day out sailing yesterday. Our day started off pretty perfect, with a trip up Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth followed by a great day sailing. We had an awesome 15 – 20kts from the SW, and we had a visit from one of the biggest dolphins I have ever seen in my life. I didn’t believe Dan when he said it was a dolphin, but interestingly enough, bottlenose dolphins can grow up to 4m in these colder Northern waters. Today we are going to get hold of Marine Conservation and start reporting back our sightings, which will help them with their surveys and cetacean research. As is the way with sailing and weather forecasts, the wind picked up a bit later in the afternoon, and as we gybed to come into Brighton, we had one of the best sea state descriptions from one of the crew, our log entry reads Sea State: topsy-turvy – quoted from our great Seaman Joe Cunningham! Thankfully we weren’t that far out of Brighton, so the crew didn’t have to deal with the topsy-turvy sea state for too long. The angle of the waves on the break water into Brighton Marina also made a rather interesting entering experience. It’s still pretty windy out there, but thankfully we already had a day of shore side activity pre-planned.
Today we are going to the Royal Marsden Hospital. This is our first Hospital visit for the trip, and will give Chloe and Jack a chance to revisit their old wards. All the kids are busy preparing a presentation of their experiences and adventures with the Trust, and they will have the opportunity to show this to the kids that are currently in the ward. In just two days of sailing, we’ve already had quite an incredible adventure…. Having quite a few boats chase us as we crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron start line, who fired the cannon for us. We also had a salute from the Royal London Yacht Club as we passed them on our way out the Medina. What incredible support we’ve had, and everyone on board was really excited and happy with such a great turnout. Thank you to all that came out on Sunday to show us your support, and for all the good wishes from those further away…[05/05/09 09:30]